


Breakfast Time With Tea Time

by PizzaHorse



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Advice, Anger, Bonding, Comfort, Concern, Developing Friendships, Duck - Freeform, Ducks, Emotions, Feelings, Female Characters, Gen, Hurt, Strong Female Characters, Talking, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 10:24:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16386125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PizzaHorse/pseuds/PizzaHorse
Summary: After the misadventure in the abandoned subway, Mrs. Beakley has a change of heart about a wayward teen.





	Breakfast Time With Tea Time

Bentina Beakley was still sharp as a tack despite her age.

When something was amiss or out of place in the house, she was usually the first to notice. Her attention to detail and ability to be a jack-of-all-trades was what had gotten her hired at McDuck Manor years earlier.

And her attentiveness caused her to note that this was the eighth consecutive day she made up an extra plate for breakfast. She noticed, because she did it without even thinking, setting one more place at the table before any of the children had even made their way downstairs and she had confirmed the extra guest. Everything was normally so routine, and it seemed that Webby's new friend Lena had been able to slot right in to regular activities, almost without being caught.

She had been over so often lately that Webby sometimes forgot to even ask if she  _could_  have company. No one really minded Lena, especially knowing how happy she made Webby. With her appearances becoming more and more frequent, it wasn't always easy to know if Lena had slept over or if she'd just come by early.

Another fact Bentina had noted was that whenever Lena was over early, she'd usually been at the mansion until late the night before. When did she have time to sleep? She had a lot of freedom for a child her age. How old was she, anyway? Mrs. Beakley realized that despite Lena's constant visits, she didn't know her granddaughters best friend all that well.

Maybe that was why she'd been so hasty to judge her when they were in the abandoned subway.

So she'd led Webby and Huey off on an unauthorized adventure. The truth was that the whole ordeal had scared Bentina.  _She'd_  faced death countless times, been in narrow escapes, and had dozens of adventures herself. But Webbigail was so young, and much as Bentina trusted her to take care of herself, she hadn't learned to trust Lena to take care of her granddaughter. Webby would have never considered venturing into someplace so dangerous without permission, until she'd met the other teen. Her granddaughter, her only family, could have gotten lost or killed or who knew what. Banning Lena from seeing Webby was an attempt to keep her family safe.

And yet, despite everything she'd said, Lena had saved her. The event was muddled since she hadn't full been conscious, but from what she could gather the younger duck had pulled her free from a mess of rubble and a crashed train car. She couldn't quite figure out how she had done it, but the important thing was if Lena was willing to risk her own safety to rescue her, she could be trusted to look out for Webby.

It made Bentina rethink everything she knew about Lena, which wasn't actually much.

And there was still the matter of eight days of breakfasts. Come to think of it, there had been seven nights of dinners, too. And quite possibly the same number of lunch and snack times, although the children tended to manage on their own for the mid-day meal. The extra food wasn't the problem. They could afford it, no doubt.

But Bentina began to wonder why Lena's family never missed her. No one ever came to retrieve her or look for her. She never accepted rides back home, claiming it wasn't far to go. But she also declined any kind of escort home, no matter the hour. That was part of how she got away with staying over so often. Everyone worried about the young girl walking home alone in the dark, even though she proclaimed she could take care of herself. And when the offer was made for her stay to be extended, Lena said her family wouldn't mind at all.

In fact, whatever family Lena was referring to didn't mind what she did, or where she went, or when she got home. Or if she ever went home. The frequency of her visits indicated an amount of leniency that was far beyond the normal amount a caring parent or guardian would give a child. Lena was certainly far too young to be living on her own, yet it seemed she lived completely by her own rules.

And that was troubling, because everything put together almost felt like the teen was looking after herself. Obviously, she lived somewhere before she met Webby, and she went somewhere when she claimed she was going home. Perhaps for the first time, Bentina began to wonder what home was really like for Lena.

It was convenient that Lena was almost always the first one awake. Surprising, considering that her overall demeanor would have led Mrs. Beakley to believe she was the type to sleep until late in the afternoon. Especially considering she could often hear Lena and Webby chatting and giggling late into the evening, when they should have already been asleep.

She was tending to chores when she caught Lena sitting at the dining table, absorbed in her cell phone. She'd snuck in without making a sound, probably so she wouldn't cause a fuss and be bothered, but nothing escaped Mrs. Beakley's keen eye.

She took a seat next to the teen, who gave her the quickest of glances but didn't fully look up. "Lena, dear?"

"What's up Mrs. B?

It wasn't proper to call her "Mrs. B", and she had to fight back the urge to correct the young duckling. Her attitude wasn't perfect, and she certainly wasn't the type of person that would have been her first choice to be Webby's friend, but she was here, and she was a guest, and like it or not she  _was_  her granddaughters friend, so maybe she could tough it out and be nice. There were more important matters at hand, anyway.

She'd always preferred a direct approach. "Are things alright at home?"

Her tip-tapping on the keys paused for a moment, but she still wouldn't look Mrs. Beakley in the eyes. "Home?" The word was spoken like a question, as if maybe she wasn't quite sure where or what that was. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you've been here more than a full week. Sleepovers don't tend to last that long."

"Look, if I'm causing trouble, I can leave," Lena placed her hands against the table so she could push her chair out and get up, but Mrs. Beakley stopped her.

"Lena," Bentina placed a hand on top of hers, and Lena promptly drew her hand back and away, but didn't try to get up. "I know I said some harsh things to you before. I want to say that I'm sorry. I should have said it before. I misjudged you, and I should have gotten to know you better before deciding you were a poor influence. I just want to know more about you, about your family, your home life, your history. And I-" she hesitated, deciding her next words carefully, "-don't have to tell Webby about anything we discuss. If you need help, I want to be here for you. You mean the world to my granddaughter, and I don't want anything to happen to you. For her sake."

"Home is the same as it always is," Lena shrugged as she offered a non-committal answer.

Clearly getting information from her wasn't going to be easy, but Mrs. Beakley had to try. "You can trust me, Lena. I know sometimes a rough upbringing can breed a bad egg. I don't think you're a bad egg. I think that's what you want everyone to think. Maybe where you come from, it's safer that way. But here, you can be yourself. No one will judge you. No one will hurt you."

Lena finally looked up, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly."You think you've got me all figured out, don't you?"

"That's what I'm talking about. Whenever someone tries to get close to you, you get on the defensive. You put up walls to protect yourself. I understand. When you live with your guard up for so long, it can be hard to let down those barriers. But you don't have to be afraid here. You're safe. I promise."

Lena stared at her, as if she was trying to get a read on her, trying to find the lie, the trick, whatever game she might be playing at. But there were no games, only sincerity. Still, she turned away when she spoke.

"Home is… lonely. My family has never really been much for being, well,  _family_."

"What about your parents? Don't they miss you?"

"I don't really live with my parents."

"Don't really, or don't at all?"

"Can't live with people who don't exist."

"Oh," so it was as Mrs. Beakley had suspected. There weren't any parents in the picture. Depending on how long they'd been gone, how old Lena was when they ceased to be a part of her life, the event could have definitely resulted in the tough, emotionless persona act Lena put on. "Who do you live with, then?"

Lena shrugged.

"You do have a home, don't you?"

"Yeah, of course I do. Where do you think I go when I'm not here?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm asking you."

"I've just got a place, okay?"

Bentina hadn't thought it would be this hard to get information. Lena was deflecting everything she asked, answering questions with more questions, giving non-answers, and generally just being difficult. Then again, being difficult wasn't out of the ordinary for Lena. So she took a deep breath and tried again.

"Do you go to school?"

"Does Webby go to school?"

" _Webby's_  been homeschooled."

"Would you believe me if I said I was homeschooled too?"

"...No."

"Well, don't worry, I'm a star pupil at the school of hard knocks," for the first time that morning, Lena smiled. She was joking, which seemed to hint that she was growing more relaxed around Mrs. Beakley. "I can take care of myself."

"I'm sure you can, but at your age, you shouldn't have to."

"Yeah, well, sometimes that's just the cards life hands you."

"Have you ever been to a doctor?"

"Don't need one. I don't get sick."

"You've  _never_  been sick?"

"Nope. What's up with the change of heart this morning? You're being nice to me."

"You were nice enough to save my life even when I didn't trust you and wanted to prevent you from seeing your best friend. Why were you nice to me?"

A look akin to panic crossed Lena's face for a moment, like she'd been caught doing something she really shouldn't have. But it was gone as quickly as it came over her, like a wave washing over the sand and leaving no trace it was ever there.

"Obviously because Webby would be upset if anything happened to you. She's nice to me when other people aren't. I owe her so much that I'll never be able to repay."

Mrs. Beakley nodded, pondering her next move. Saying the wrong thing could push Lena away again, and the last thing she wanted was to make the young girl feel like a cornered animal. Her suspicions were more or less confirmed, that Lena's home life was complicated, at the very least. She seemed tentative to reveal exactly where it was she lived, and maybe that's because it wasn't consistent. Maybe McDuck Manor was just one stop in a long string of couches and spare rooms and shelters that Lena used as a means of survival.

"Do you sleep well?"

"I don't sleep if I can help it."

"That's not healthy."

"Neither are nightmares."

"Nightmares about what?"

"Dreams about the things I'm capable of. The people I could hurt."

Bentina could see Lena opening up, slowly and with slightly cryptic responses, but she was talking, and that was progress enough. It was probably difficult for someone of Lena's age to be able to trust adults. Especially when her demeanor seemed to indicate a life that had been much less than perfect, likely due to the actions of what few grownups she'd encountered.

Lena had been staring down at her phone screen, not typing or scrolling, but perhaps thinking, until screen dimmed. Something seemed to click back into place, like Lena re-thought about what she was doing and who she was talking to. Or like someone had leaned over her shoulder and whispered a reminder not to show weakness. Her head whipped up, eyes glaring at the housekeeper. "Look, I don't know why in the world you're suddenly worried about me and my well-being and whatever, but I'm fine. I get by."

The sudden retort surprised Mrs. Beakley momentarily, and she quickly rebutted, "You get by by spending most of your time here?"

"I told you, if it's a problem, I'll go," Lena pushed against the dining table and scooted her chair back, standing and turning towards the nearest exit like she had every intention to leave whether she was forced to or not.

Before Mrs. Beakley could stop herself, she reached out and grabbed Lena by the wrist, and in turn the girl snatched it away, whirling with clenched fists. Bentina could see that all her walls were back up, ready to defend herself physically or verbally. She'd acted too quickly and erased any progress she'd made that morning. Well, she could at least try to set things right before she went to finish breakfast.

"I'm sorry, Lena. How often you're here is  _not_  a problem, and I don't want you to ever feel like it is. If you don't have somewhere stable, I'm sure Scrooge wouldn't mind-"

"No, it's okay," Lena seemed to backpedal, dropping her arms at her sides when she saw Bentina wasn't going to chase after her. "Sometimes I need my space. But I appreciate that you… care? It's kind of a new thing for me. Having someone who does that."

"I know we can't replace your family, but if you ever need somewhere to escape, you're welcome here."

"If only it were that easy."

"What?"

"Escape."

"Mmm," Mrs. Beakley hummed knowingly. A change in physical environment did not necessarily alleviate negative memories.

The way Lena flinched at any kind of contact and was guarded about her lifestyle did not sit well with Bentina. But there was little she could do to noticeably improve her way of life if Lena didn't allow her to. At least she'd opened up their home, tried to let her know that she was welcome and safe. She'd been wrong about the intentions of the girl, and still felt bad for it, so she was going to do everything she could to ensure Lena's time in the manor was comfortable.

"Well, I should tend to breakfast. Everyone else will be waking soon. Any requests?"

"You're asking me what I want you to make for breakfast?"

"Yes dear. We have a fully stocked pantry. What would  _you_  like?"

"You know I love your pancakes, Mrs. B."

" _Mrs. Beakley_ , please."

"You know that's not happening," but even though Lena's face was turned down and glued to her cell phone again, Mrs. Beakley could catch the slightest hint of a smile.

She sighed as she headed for the kitchen. "I certainly do," but she smiled to herself, too.

She felt like she'd had a breakthrough this morning, though. Lena had talked a fair amount, and even joked a couple of times, which normally would have been unheard of. Maybe it had helped that she had apologized. Maybe Lena was just in a good mood for some reason. Whatever the case, Mrs. Beakley was sure that she had begun to earn the girls trust. It was a small step, but a step in the right direction. She hoped that in the coming days, they could become better acquainted. She suspected there was much more that Lena was hiding, and she hoped that eventually she'd be able to find out what.


End file.
